Return engagement seen for Studio Arena

A deal has been finalized with area banks to forgive mortgage debt on the defunct Studio Arena Theater, which could allow the theater to reopen by mid-2012 under new management.

HSBC Bank, the primary mortgagee, and another four banks on Tuesday assigned mortgages totaling $675,000 over to 701 Main St. Inc., a nonprofit group, which plans to contract with Shea’s Performing Arts Center to manage and book programming at the downtown site.

The transfer coincided with a $50,000 allocation of county funds for structural repairs at the site, part of a pool of $300,000 awarded to 13 nonprofit groups from a 2010 budget surplus.

The 600-seat theater had been closed since February 2008, citing $3 million in debts and laying off nearly the entire staff. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing came in June of that year.

Forgiving the debt was a major step in moving the deal ahead, says Anthony Conte, CEO at Shea’s. The next step will likely be a foreclosure sale to finalize ownership of the building, but the major work is complete, he says.

“We are moving forward,” he says. “It will take some time, but the big stumbling block is done, in the sense of getting the banks all on the same page.”

The 702 Main St. Inc. board is made up of a small group of supporters, including past subscribers. Board chairman of the new organization is Ross Eckert, a 25-year subscriber of the former Studio Arena who has previously served as board chairman at Shea’s.

“I understand the importance of maintaining a theater district for the enrichment of the community and I’m a community-minded guy,” says Eckert, owner of PBCo. LLC in Tonawanda. “Those two things seem to make a lot of sense: it’s an important asset to the community and I would hate to see it go in another direction. I hope to preserve it as a theater for the long term.”

Eckert says the organization seems to have the right coalition of supporters in place to allow the facility to get up and running and continue as a performing arts enterprise. But additional community support will be required moving forward, especially from the private sector, to get the building ready to reopen.

“Our longer-term hope is we don’t need to seek government support, and rather can look to the community,” he says.

Plans call for using the Studio Arena space as a presentation theater for other production companies, including touring groups from outside the region.

“By going through this process, the new not-for-profit will have a clear title to the deed, clear of all claims,” Conte says. “Our plan is to offer a variety of straight plays from a variety of sources, including local, regional and national companies. We have over the last couple of years had conversations with a number of companies with an interest in bringing shows here appropriate to that theater, who have been anxious to get going on this for some time.”